AHEM "TRY AGAIN" ALBUM REVIEW
Evoking the endless energy of a childhood sugar buzz, each fuzzy-alt-pop track of “Try Again” is like listening to flickering memories of my younger-carefree self, running full speed and out of control through sunlit days. Ahem’s debut full length is sweet, fun, and reminds me of the nineties (my youth) both in sound and the nostalgic feelings it conjures. Specifically, “Halloween” reminds me of The Smashing Pumpkins’ “1979,” and since the songs have very little in common sonically, the only reason I can figure out is that they both do an amazing job of balancing that carefree feeling of youth, early teen rebellion, and trying to figure out who you are in the world. “Halloween” is my favorite track on the album, I’m a sucker for palm-muting and the understated vocal delivery that then bursts into loud jangly distortion and shouting in the chorus, it’s just so very awesomely well done. The main themes of “Try Again” seem to be youth, adolescence, and growing up. Every track on “Try Again” is fun and fuzzy except the closing track “Sun Spots,” which is more of a stripped down acoustic track that carries through some of the same themes of the rest of the album, but has more of a bittersweet tone of growing up. The two lead singles released before the album dropped were “Sideways” and “No Kid (Gold Star).” Both songs are catchy with restrained frenetic energy that builds until it feels like it’s about to break loose at any moment. It’s hard to describe the instruments on the album in anyway other than jangly/fuzzy distorted guitar and bass with cheery/up beat drums, and a subtle, difficult to define element of melancholy. Coming near the end of the album, “Remote Control” is also another highlight for me. It plays with the loud/quiet format, starting with just the vocals, then coming in with palm-muted guitar, before ripping into a full band detonation of distortion. I love how this song contrasts with its own lyrics being shouted, “We won’t make a sound.” You can hear the happy-fuzzy songs off “Try Again” on streaming services, or pick up a physical copy from local label Forged Artifacts.
(Melodic Noise) How's your day going?
(Ahem) Good! Drinking some coffee and hiking in the woods and it was beautiful!
(MN) What is your formed/origin story?
(A) We started in 2015 as a two-piece (erik and alyse), then Alyse's wonderful friend Sam Stahlmann joined on bass for a few years, and then Alyse and Sam's wonderful friend Courtney joined on bass in 2018 just as our second EP was coming out.
(MN) Genre?
(A) Damn this is always such a tough one. Indie? Rock n roll? I don't feel like we ever know!
(MN) How did you get involved with Forged Artifacts?
(A) When we were first starting out, we listened to a lot of tapes that local labels were putting out, including Forged Artifacts, and we just loved so many of their releases. So when we'd put together our first EP, I guess it was kind of a dream to see if a local label would put it out, and at some point, we worked up the courage to email Matt at Forged and luckily for us he dug the tunes. :) So then we met up at the Viking Bar and sealed it over a glass of hamm's.
(MN) What is the story behind the album name?
(A) We actually got the album name from the amazing Alexis Politz, who did all the art and design on Try Again. We were in Courtney's basement recording, and had been brainstorming album names while also looking around for art that spoke to us, and when we saw an early sketch online of the "Try Again" magic-8 ball art that Alexis had done, we were like oh damn, that's it!
(MN) Lyrically what stands out on the album?
(A) We wrote a lot of the lyrics after we'd recording the music, so there was a lot of group brainstorming going on, scribbling lyrics on sheets of paper and Alyse's old drum heads. Given that we were writing so much in a condensed amount of time, we like how a lot of the songs actually reference other songs on the album, even if it's just in an image or a metaphor. It was fun for us to kinda plant those little references throughout.
(MN) What was the inspiration behind the album?
(A) I guess in the back of our minds we kinda wanted to do a full length after doing two EPs, and in early 2019 we had an opportunity for a free half day of studio time, and wanted to challenge ourselves to try and do a full length haha so we just went for it! And happily it turned out. And honestly, setting that goal for us was a really healthy thing to have going during a long winter. And maybe a lot of that "hoping" and "trying" really made it into the album lyrically.
(MN) What do you hope people take away from the album?
(A) Whatever they want!! We of course hope they love our tunes, but realize every person will have a different take away.
(MN) Locals or transplants?
(A) Both! Alyse grew up here, and Courtney and Erik both grew up in Chicago.
(MN) Who are your influences and Minnesota influences?
(A) Cups of tea, pizza, our family and friends and the Lemonheads. Minnesota influences .... maybe winter cuz we stay inside and work on music!
(MN) Who is your favorite current Twin Cities artists?
(A) Honestly this is such a hard one to answer because there are so many, so many bands we've played with over the years that we just adore. We love our buds in Double Grave, Cheap Fantasy, we love Catbath, 4th Curtis, Gully Boys, we were so blessed to have Doggy, Busey, and Split Fountain with us at the release show. So many of our favorite bands have welcomed us onto bills, shared our music, offered kind words since we started, it's hard to list 'em all. We're full of love for so many honestly.
(MN) Favorite venue to play and see shows at in Twin Cities?
(A) So many great places, but we have a real soft spot in our hearts for the little room at Eagles!
(MN) What can fans expect when they come to your show?
(A) A fifteen minute set no matter the occasion. :) Ok, maaaaaaybe 20.
(MN) Do you have a favorite/crazy memory of playing a show?
(A) Our very first show was at Big Vs at a zombie rock n roll night and was preeeeeetty AWESOME lol.
(MN) Other hobbies?
(A) Thrifting!
(MN) What do you like about living in the Twin Cities?
(A) It’s a city that feels like a small town.
(MN) Anything that sets the Twin Cities scene apart from places you've toured?
(A) We were just laughing about this on the Ear Coffee podcast actually, about how not only has ahem never toured, we've also never played outside the cities at all! I think we figured out that we've never played north of the 331, east of the Entry south of Eagles, and east of Macalester college. Someday maybe we'll tour to Roseville.
(MN) Favorite places to grab food or drink in the Twin Cities?
(A) I love Chimborazo (Courtney) and Erik really loves On's. We generally just love food a lot.
(MN) Day jobs?
(A) Alyse works with mosaic tiles and Courtney is a high school art teacher (and they're both artists!) and Erik edits books.
(MN) What are the band's plans for the future?
(A) Keep having fun writing music and also eating pizza. Also starting a doom band.
Review and Interview by: Andrew Perrizo
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